In The Odyssey, Homer portrays his main character, Odysseus, as a hero. Because Odysseus is the here of this story, he posses many heroic qualities. For example, Odysseus is fearless and very intelligent. These qualities are important traits that a hero should have.
Odysseus shows that he is fearless by going on this long journey home to Ithaca from the scene of the Trojan War. Not only does he show his brave side by accepting the journey but also by accepting the obstacles that are included. An example of an obstacle that Odysseus faces the group of giants known as Cyclopes. These are his first encounter.
When Odysseus reaches the Cyclopes, he still shows no fear. What he does show in his presence with the giants is his intelligence.
Odysseus must kill all cyclopes in orde to successfully overdone the obstacle. Because the Cyclopes are so large, Odysseus must be clever to be able to trick them. How Odysseus trucks the cyclops is when the giant asks for Odysseus's name. Odysseus replies with "Nobody". This is clever because when Odysseus and his men begin their attack, the cyclops proclaims, "Nobody has wounded me."
Although Odysseus is a typical hero with the heroic traits, he does have a flaw. His flaw is that he is careless of his men. Most of his men get killed along their journey home, but Odysseus does not show any emotion towards the deaths. This shows that Odysseus can be selfish.
